By TAYLOR HOFF

Controversy is arising over the conditions at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. After seven years of preparing the city for the Olympics- seven years filled with corruption, debt, worker-rights controversy, etc.- is it fair that the misfortunes in Sochi are becoming a punch line?

“#SochiProblems” is a newly consuming hash tag on social media. It’s mainly pursued by journalist’s living in hotels with unfinished lobbies, toxic water, shortages of pillows and sheets, and other less than positive conditions of the hotels in Sochi.

The tweets and articles written by journalists living under these circumstances have catapulted to full on media frenzy. Crazy pictures and witty tweets have led the unpreparedness of Sochi to become the punch line of the Games.

However, this humorous and overwhelming new trend may be harming legitimate news coverage. The twitter handle “Sochi Problems” currently as more than 100,000 more followers than that of the official twitter of the Olympics.

Controversy has arisen due to complaints that this seems more like making fun of a poor classmate, than genuine, necessary reporting. After Russia took seven years to prepare for these games and sacrificed so much, is it fair to poke fun at their shortcomings?

The other side expresses their belief that Russia did in fact take seven years to prepare. Is it uncalled to poke fun after seven years of preparations, and hotel lobbies are still missing?

Either way, the main problem lays in the media attention. It is not right that the poor conditions in which the journalists are living are taking precedent in the news over actual newsworthy stories about the Games. The journalists’ need to refocus- they didn’t go to Sochi for a five star vacation, but to keep the world informed on the Games.